The Moben Guild’s march was unstoppable.
They dashed forward without caring about the eyes of others, colliding with several obstacles along the way but without making any attempts to resolve the chaos.
They simply aimed ahead.
Even high-level guard soldiers who intervened in between were no match at all.
“Ghh….”
“What’s up with NPCs?”
“No, let go, ghh!”
“Can’t I just run around? I don’t understand why you’re suppressing freedom. Ah! Since you’ve suppressed my freedom, I guess it’s okay for me to suppress your life’s freedom too?”
“Wh-What…?”
“Just a load of crap. You punk.”
Crackle…
“Don’t kill me.”
“Why? It wouldn’t even matter if a few of these guys died, right?”
The muscular man chuckled, tightening his grip around the guard’s neck.
Around the man lay several fallen guards who had yet to die. They were merely groaning with broken limbs.
“Grr…”
“They’re not even that impressive; they’re just soldiers. You probably won’t even notice if these guys are gone?”
“Sigh… You’re as clueless as a barbarian.”
“Stop talking crap and say something.”
“Think about it. Even if they are soldiers, do you really think Lily would stay quiet about it if they died?”
A woman with a purple thin cloth on her head clasped her hands and sighed.
The cloth emitted a sinister pattern, shaped like an upside-down bell, radiating a purplish aura.
“Lily’s heart for the NPCs is admirable, so she would likely hold the deaths in her heart. Once she finds out the circumstances, she’ll behead the barbarian.”
“So you’re saying she’s a drama queen.”
“Yet, that drama queen is playing the top-ranked game.”
“……”
The man pondered.
His goal was not to cause a ruckus here but rather to quickly head north.
Therefore, he hadn’t committed unnecessary killings, but he had never spared those who acted so arrogantly until now.
Given his usual personality, it wouldn’t be weird to kill them immediately, but…
“That crazy cultist’s words aren’t entirely wrong.”
Although he couldn’t understand how one could see NPCs as people, killing guards equated to losing one’s own possessions.
If someone sought to steal his valuables, it was only natural to go and kill them.
Thwack!
“Ghh…”
“Tsk. You got lucky, you.”
“Hehe… muscular barbarian! Just bear with it; you’ll get to kill a lot later.”
“Are you following that cultist’s lead? The one who can’t hold back the most.”
“Hahaha…”
“I’m not a cultist. Just a barbarian who doesn’t use his brain.”
“What are you talking about, you cultist?”
So, they exchanged pleasant words that were nice to hear as they arrived at the entrance of the Inner Fortress.
And at the entrance of the Inner Fortress…
“Huh?”
“Oh ho…”
“What kind of welcome is this?”
There were multiple battalions.
Instead of a line of residents standing, armed troops widely spread out, waiting for someone.
The troops were all armed and waiting for someone.
That someone was, of course, the mastermind behind the incident, the Moben Guild.
The four users exchanged smirks and naturally pulled out their weapons.
“Doesn’t seem like they’re here to congratulate us.”
“Obviously, they’re here to block us. So why do they never listen and just stay quiet?”
“Can we just kill them all?”
“Still, it’s better to just dismember them and keep going… huh?”
Someone was walking towards the battalion.
She was wearing a rather fancy uniform on the inside, unlike the other troops, and a flashy mage’s robe on the outside.
Above all, the most eye-catching thing was the white mask that covered half of her face.
That mask seemed quite expensive.
“Who?”
“The commander of the cavalry protecting Elbrite’s main hall. How did you manage to enter here and stir up trouble?”
“Trouble? What are you talking about? We’re just trying to pass through.”
“…Pass through?”
When the Cavalry Commander asked in disbelief, a woman known as a cultist nodded from the back.
“That’s right. We’re just passing through. It would be nice if you moved aside unless you want your limbs to fly off.”
“Heh heh… Right, better move before you all end up dead.”
“Why are we even talking? Just blow them away!”
A man wielding long claws stepped forward, chuckling.
In an instant, he burrowed behind the Cavalry Commander, and the fierce claws surged toward her, ready to shred her to pieces…
“?!”
“That’s quite noisy.”
Kaaang!
…He was deflected without landing a hit.
As the claws unceremoniously bounced back, the man wearing them also soared into the air.
Using a magical shield, the Cavalry Commander immediately swung her staff and unleashed dozens of spells.
Countless magical attacks of various elements shot through the air.
The man tried to roll and dodge as much as he could while airborne, but it was futile to block everything with his posture already messed up.
“Krak!”
Eventually, he couldn’t even defend against a small storm of ice and crashed down to the ground awkwardly.
Pfft!
“Bwahahaha! And you thought you could handle this alone?”
“How pathetic, Levin.”
“Hem hem…”
“Shut up! That girl is stronger than she looks!”
“Still just an NPC, isn’t she…?”
“Dammit! Then go take her on by yourself, you barbarian bastard!”
The man with claws, Levin, spat venomously while pointing at the Cavalry Commander, and the barbarian nodded.
“Well… fine. I’ll take her on alone.”
Kuwung!
Rough energy swirled around the barbarian.
He charged at the Cavalry Commander like a battering ram, and once again, dozens of spells formed around her.
Crasht!
“!”
“Are you panicking because your magic isn’t working?”
Whoosh! The barbarian’s fist surged high into the air.
“Sorry, but I’m immune to magic.”
“At the station.”
Creak!!
The mana shield is shattered.
The shield, made of dozens of layers, was strong enough to withstand even the attacks of a grand mage, but, well, it’s still magic.
It couldn’t withstand the punch of the man called a barbarian.
The shield crumbled like a candy.
He may not be able to equip weapons or high-level gear, but he gained an incredibly strong body and resistance to magic.
The worst match-up for mages.
Finally, all the shields broke, and his fist struck the cavalry commander.
Boom!!
The cavalry commander was sent flying toward the battalion.
“Cavalry Commander!”
“Protect the Cavalry Commander!”
For a moment, the ranks of the battalion faltered.
The barbarian chuckled and looked back at Levin, who was wearing a face like he just bit into poop.
“How’s that? I won.”
“Winning thanks to match-up advantages, and you’re acting all tough.”
“Match-up is also skill. You lost to a mage as an assassin, what do you—”
“Ugh, I’m telling you, that guy is strong!”
“Yeah, yeah. Loser.”
“Dammit, want to throw down?”
“You can’t win anyway, so shut it…”
“Just look forward, Barbarian.”
“What?”
Whoosh!
…Before I could finish asking, a sword flew in from far away and lodged itself in the barbarian’s shoulder.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t just any sword.
‘…A mana sword?’
A sword made of mana.
It managed to bypass the barbarian’s attribute of magic immunity by taking the form of a weapon thrown using magic.
The barbarian’s eyes bulged wide open.
“…?!!”
Thud…
“Magic immunity, huh… it’s a remarkable power, but…”
Phew…
“There’s no such thing as an ‘absolute’ power in this world. Especially not a ridiculous ability like magic immunity.”
“…You’re not an ordinary girl.”
“A strong shield tends to break under stronger magic.”
The fight resumed again.
The barbarian swung his fists at the cavalry commander, who had risen once more, but every time, various magic forms interfered with him.
How on earth are they attacking while penetrating magic immunity?
I didn’t know all the details, but there were roughly two reasons.
“Just a bit of power…”
“Cavalry Commander…!”
One was those useless spectators.
I thought they were just watching, but now I see they were sending their mana and energy to the cavalry commander using magic.
Thanks to that, the cavalry commander looked fine while using far more magic than before.
And the second was…
“Ugh!”
“What a pity.”
“This damn girl!!”
The ‘materialization’ of magic.
Transforming magic into the form of a weapon and making temporary ‘physical attacks.’
Not just changing its appearance, but also altering its ‘properties.’
And still retaining the advantages of magic, making it a nightmare for the opponent.
It was quite the jam.
I don’t know how it’s possible, but the Cavalry Commander managed to blur the boundaries of magic immunity.
“But that’s not enough! You can’t defeat this body!”
Even though the wounds were increasing, this strong body had considerable regeneration power.
That mana isn’t infinite, so it must be slowly depleting. I’ll wait for that moment.
That’s what I was thinking.
“Now!”
“Commander!”
Until the moment before the Cavalry Commander’s spirit surged.
“?!”
In an instant, a huge sword descended upon the Cavalry Commander, whose mana had increased more than tenfold.
The amount was beyond what one Cavalry Commander could handle.
This was magic created by other mages pooling their power together. No matter how much magic immunity one had, this attack would be impossible to withstand.
The Barbarian tried to dodge the sword, but there was nowhere to escape in terms of range.
“This damn…”
“I will punish you.”
‘I can’t block this.’
The way…
“!”
‘I’ll give it up!’
Even if it means sacrificing the left half of my body, I’ll strike with my right hand.
The Barbarian braced himself and instead charged at my limbs…
“Phew… No time. Barbarian.”
Ding~
The bell rang.
Hearing the sinister tone of the bell, the mages instantly spit blood and rolled on the floor.
“…?!”
The Cavalry Commander, who was at the center of the magic, also felt shaken.
Tsk tsk…
The uncontrolled giant sword scattered and vanished, and the Barbarian’s rough fist plunged into the unbalanced Cavalry Commander’s chest.
Thud!!!
“You cultist…”
“We need to finish this quickly. There’s no time. Time.”
“Do you want to die? How dare you interfere with the fight?”
“Variables must be eliminated. If the excellent meat shield Barbarian gets hurt, how will we proceed? Really, you’re so ignorant.”
“……”
“Already, creating such a commotion has introduced many variables. We need to move north as soon as possible…”
“Is that also a variable?”
“What?”
The Barbarian was pointing at something with his empty hands.
The Cavalry Commander was bleeding profusely from her wide-open chest.
And someone was gently enveloping that Cavalry Commander.
Wrapping her in pure white light…
“Hello?”
It was me.
